Former premier among Alberta’s newest judges

There are three new members sitting on the bench at the provincial court of Alberta.

The one with the most name recognition is former Progressive Conservative MLA David Hancock, who briefly served as premier of the province in 2014. Throughout his political career, he held various cabinet positions including interim premier, deputy premier, minister of justice, minister of health and wellness, minister of human services and minister of education. Hancock has been a member of the Alberta bar since 1980. Justice Hancock will serve in the Edmonton family and youth division.

Justice Marian De Souza will serve in the Calgary region. She was trained at the University of Leeds and joined the Alberta bar in 1996. She began her career representing legal aid clients in civil, criminal, family and child protection matters before becoming an in-house counsel and then a director at a Fortune 500 company. De Souza has taken on a number of roles with the Law Society of Alberta and the Canadian Bar Association, including serving as president and executive officer of the Alberta branch.

Appointed to serve in the Edmonton region, Justice Robert Shaigec was a partner at Dawson, Duckett, Shaigec & Garcia where he practised criminal defence law. He has appeared before all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Shaigec became known for providing legal aid services to help those facing barriers to access to justice. He has been a committee member for Legal Aid Alberta, and has held a number of positions with the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association.

“David Hancock, Marian De Souza and Robert Shaigec have each made positive and lasting contributions to Alberta’s justice system and their communities. I congratulate them on their appointments to the provincial court of Alberta and I am confident their experience will be a valuable asset as they move forward in their careers as members of the judiciary,” said acting Minister of Justice Marlin Schmidt.